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Wearing helmets could make cyclists more likely to take risks, new research from Bath University shows. According to their results, rather than making cyclists more safe, helmets could actually increase the wearer’s likelihood of taking risks.
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The scientists, led by Dr Tim Gamble and Dr Ian Walker, measured sensation-seeking behaviour and analysed risk taking in adults aged 17-56 using a computer-based simulation. The individuals in the study wore either a bicycle helmet or a baseball cap, which they were told was just there to support an eye-tracking device.
They were then tasked with inflating an on-screen animated balloon whilst wearing either the cap or the helmet and their tendency to keep on inflating the balloon was used to measure their level of risk taking.
Dr Ian Walker says: “The helmet could make zero difference to the outcome, but people wearing one seemed to take more risks in what was essentially a gambling task. The practical implication of our findings might be to suggest more extreme unintended consequences of safety equipment in hazardous situations than has previously been thought.
“Replicated in real-life settings, this could mean that people using protective equipment might take risks against which that protective equipment cannot reasonably be expected to help.
“Several studies in the past have looked at so-called ‘risk compensation’, suggesting that people might drive differently when wearing seatbelts, or make more aggressive American football tackles when wearing helmets. But in all those cases, the safety device and the activity were directly linked – there’s a certain logic to sports people being more aggressive when wearing equipment that is specifically intended to make their sport safer. This is the first suggestion that a safety device might make people take risks in a totally different domain.”
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In their experiment, Dr Ian Walker and Dr Tim Gamble split participants into two groups: half wore a bicycle helmet and half wore baseball caps.
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County Donegal on Ireland’s beautiful northwest coast will be home to a new Swimrun event, the first of its kind in Ireland, on 20 August.
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Organised by Breca Swimrun and named the Breca Árainn Mhór it will be taking place across the stunning Árainn Mhór Island and The Rosses.
Teams of two will take on the challenging 54km course across 45 legs, including 9km of open-water swims and 45km of trail running (split up as 22 swims and 23 runs) with an elevation gain of 470 metres. They will negotiate clifftops, open water, rolling sand dunes and have to work together to overcome tricky rock transitions.
Entries will be limited to just 100 teams and there are men’s, women’s and mixed categories.
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This is Breca’s second Swimrun event; the other one takes place in and around Buttermere in the Lake District in July.
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The new half-distance race will take place on the spectacular Caribbean island of Aruba.
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The 1.9km swim is a single lap course in the clear warm Caribbean sea, while the undulating 90km bike course is over four laps along the coastline. The run is entirely along the island’s stunning white beaches.
A sprint distance race will also be available for athletes with a 750m swim, followed by a 22.5km cycle and finally a 7km run.
“Racing in paradise is always a hard opportunity to turn down,” said Marcus Altmann, head of global operations for Challenge. “The convenience of getting to Aruba from the North American mainland makes this a perfect race to escape the autumn weather and get some sun before winter hits. A great way to close out the season.”
Post-race there will be the chance to celebrate with a lavish beach and pool award party at the Hyatt Resort.
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The inaugural Challenge Aruba will take place on 23 October 2016
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As the name suggests, expect to get very muddy and messy at the third and final event in Human Race’s popular off-road series.
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Taking place in March on Army military training ground, the Mudman duathlon, “won’t trouble your PB collection but is guaranteed to give you an adrenalin-fuelled ride,” claim the organisers.
1 Nutrition
I always like to have a hearty meal the night before, something like a casserole or bangers and mash. I go for porridge with honey on race morning and try to arrive early to enjoy a coffee on site with a banana or energy bar about 1.5hrs before the start.
2 Kit
Dress in your race wear underneath your casuals, so there’s no chance of nudity at the race venue! Wear gloves for the whole race. I say this because when running your hands are warm but when cycling they’re not, and they’ll help when putting your run shoes on in T2. I’d also recommend using two pairs of off-road shoes – I use Inov8 RocLite and Talons. The first may get wet on the first run and slung anywhere in T1 when you swap to the bike shoes. If it’s really cold then put a gilet on in T2 for the bike. Stay hydrated by sipping on some hydration tabs until 30mins to go.
3 First run
The race always goes off fast but don’t be fooled, it funnels within a few hundred feet and soon enough you’re running single file. Create a bit of space between you and the person in front to help you plot where your foot falls. The Mudman’s first run is made up of steady climbs, and is quite open in places with a fast finish to T1. Aim to take nutrition on board when the ground is flat or else you might lose control. I take a bottle of water on my bike and energy bars or gels in my pockets for the whole race.
4 Transition
In T1 I always put my bike shoes on before running to the mount line, which actually doesn’t make my socks any more wet. I also carry any gels/bars in my jersey pocket so I don’t have to fumble with them in transition. Less faff = less likely to forget something. Keep it simple.
5 Bike
A two-lap course made up of a few, very short, steep hills, some sharp corners at the bottom and the rest steady. Take the steep downhills carefully unless you’ve ridden them before or are confident in your bike handling. It’s a great loop that can usually be improved on lap two. I’d usually run my tyres at about 28psi but I run tubeless on a 29er, so adjust yours accordingly.
6 Second run
This is a tough run! Within a few hundred meters of T2 you’re running up the firing range’s sandbanks, which are worse than any staircase! Shortly after that there’s a ‘water feature’ – if you fancy a challenge then run straight through it. It’s about knee deep. After this, keep your head up and look for the run signs, as the course twists and turns on the climbs followed by some fast descents. When you can see the car park, there’s still have about 750m to run, so dig deep and finish strong.
The Mudman race breakdown
Location: Camberley, Surrey
Distance: 7.5km run, 15km bike, 7.5km run
Highest elevation on the run: 470 feet
Highest elevation on the bike: 410 feet
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1) A meta-analysis of nine studies revealed that cold-water immersion is more effective at reducing muscle soreness than passive recovery (where you exercise at a low intensity to flush out exercise-induced toxins). The therapy is said to constrict blood vessels, helping to reduce swelling and tissue breakdown. Prof Aryane Machado and his team also concluded that water temperature between 11°C and 15°C is optimum for 11-15mins. But be warned: some say reducing soreness is a sign the muscle isn’t adapting effectively to the workout.
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2) The last 40 years has seen an explosion in running. But a review by biomechanics expert Benno Nigg shows that, despite purported advancements in run-shoe technology, injury rates haven’t dropped. Nigg suggested not choosing run shoes based on gait analysis, such as pronation and impact forces (whether you land on your heel or ball of your foot). Instead, he observed that your body naturally runs to its ‘preferred movement path’, whatever shoes you’re wearing, which their research showed was usually the most comfortable pair.
3) Rotator cuff strain, patellar tendonitis, shin splints… even the strongest triathlete can suffer multisport injuries. Rest, recuperation and, according to Prof Kevin Tipton of Stirling University, a change in nutrition strategy helps recovery. A long spell off can reduce muscle mass so Tipton suggests eating more protein (2-2.5g/kg/day). Creatine, used by bodybuilders, can also stave off muscular reductions, while there’s a case for upping omega-3 intakes, too. The fatty acid reduces inflammation, though Tipton says swelling aids healing.
4) Looking to lose weight after the Christmas binge? Turn to skimmed milk. Dr Penny Rumbold of Northumbria University had nine female recreational exercisers drink either 600ml of skimmed milk or 600ml of orange juice after 30mins of exercise followed by a pasta dish 60mins later. The milk group consumed 25% less calories than the orange group, proposing that the higher-protein drink satiated appetite more than the vitamin-C-rich juice. It’s down to elevated levels of the hormones cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-1, used in insulin control.
5) The past few years have seen a rise in athletes basing their training on heart-rate variability (HRV), most notably via the Omegawave training tool. HRV gives information about the status of the cardiac-autonomic nervous system, the strength and balance of which conveys how resilient an athlete will be.
A recent study from Scandinavia aimed to determine whether HRV values can accurately provide information about subsequent exercise intensity and volume. Thirty-seven endurance athletes were split into two groups. One followed a high-volume eight-week programme, the other high-intensity for eight weeks. Before and after the eight-week plan, subjects undertook a treadmill test to measure running speed.
The results proved interesting. Subjects with low baseline HRV readings didn’t respond well to high-intensity training but did in the high-volume group. Vice versa, a high baseline HRV resulted in significant improvements in subjects undertaking high-intensity exercise but not in the high-volume group. Researchers concluded that measuring HRV when you rise is a good way to determine the intensity and volume of your training that day.
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References: 1. Sports Medicine, 2015 Nov, Epub ahead of print; 2. Brit J Sports Med, 2015, volume 49, pages 1,290-1,294; 3. Sports Med, 2015 Nov, Epub ahead of print; 4. Nutrients, 2015 Jan, volume 7, pages 293-305 5 Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (Impact Factor: 2.9). 08/2015; DOI: 10.1111/sms.12530
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The World Triathlon Series is coming to Leeds over the 11th-12th June, and the full route maps for both elites and age-groupers have been released today.
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The much-anticipated event, which has replaced London as the UK stop on the ITU World Triathlon Series tour, will see the world’s finest triathletes and over 5,000 amateurs take to the streets of Leeds on largely the same course on Sunday 12 June.
Barring injury, the elite races will feature proud Yorkshiremen Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, as well as Leeds-based duo Non Stanford and Vicky Holland, taking on their rivals from across the globe in the British athletes’ final event on home soil before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
the 1500-metre swim starts in Roundhay Park’s Waterloo Lake, and the bike course is a 42.5km ride through Roundhay, Moortown, Meanwood, Headingley and Woodhouse. The race will culminate with a 7-lap, 10km run around the city centre, with the finish chute in Millennium Square.
The unique point-to-point route has been designed to provide the best possible spectator experience, especially in the city centre where crowds watching the bike and run elements will see the field pass them multiple times.
Alistair Brownlee commented:
“The route shows what an exciting race Leeds will be for spectators. The multi-lap bike course goes into the heart of the city centre making it really technical and spectator friendly with plenty of opportunities to watch the racing. The finish in Millennium Square, it’s going to be brilliant!”
The age-group route map
With the elite races taking place in the afternoon, they will be preceded by the mass-participation events in the morning, offering approximately 5,000 amateur triathletes the chance to take on the same course as the professionals – the only slight differences being variations to the bike and run elements to cater for the different distances being completed, and the second transition point being on the former site of the Leeds International Pool. All competitors will enjoy the chance to cross the same finish line on Millennium Square.
The previous day, Saturday 11 June, will see a range of activities taking place in Roundhay Park offering families and people of all ages a sample of triathlon before the main event. Full details of the Saturday programme will be revealed in the weeks to come.
You can head to http://leeds.triathlon.org to view an animation of the elite course, while an interactive route map is also available to view at www.leeds.gov.uk/worldtrileeds.
Although entries filling up fast, there are places still available for all age-group races apart from the individual Olympic distance, you can go to leedstriathlon.org to book your place. Anyone keen to volunteer at the event can express their interest via http://leeds.triathlon.org//event_info/volunteer.
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Do you live locally to Leeds? What do you think of the course? Let us know in the comments!
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2015 ironman Champions Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf have won Ironman 70.3 Dubai, the first race of the Nasser Bin Hamad Triple Crown series.
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Blustery conditions and ocean swells forced organisers to move the swim and shorten the course to 1,200 meters, with an additional 750 meters to run to transition. The 90-kilometer cycle loop presented competitors with a tailwind out and a headwind of up to 20 miles per hour coming back in. three circuits of a seven-kilometer loop on unshaded jog paths was the final hurdle.
Frodeno led from the swim and finished in a time of 3 hours, 34 minutes, 48 seconds.
“It was really tough out there, but this course is very fast,” he said. “I had a real dream of a day, one of those days you can just push with the pace the whole day. It was a perfect day for me.”
Ryf faced a little more challenge to her lead on the women’s side. Swiss compatriot Caroline Steffen was nipping at her heels from the swim and took the early lead on the bike. However Ryf came back at her in the final third of the ride to get onto the run two minutes ahead of Steffen. She held that lead with a steady run, finishing in 4 hours, 1 minute, 9 seconds.
“I’m really happy actually, it’s a great start,” She said. “Big compliment to Caroline. I think she did really good in the first 50km on the bike. She really pushed the pace and she was really hurting me and then I tried to wait a bit.
“I started to hurt more, then in the last 40km I wanted to see where my legs were and decided to push a little bit harder. Every time I wanted to slow down I pushed harder, that’s pretty much the tactic. With the wind and the carpet on the floor the run felt quite slow, but I’m really happy.
“I’m 37 years of age and I can still out-sprint the young ones. I’m quite happy with that.”
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Images © Delly Carr / Bahrain ENDURANCE Media
Read Jan Frodeno’s 10 top tips for stepping up to iron distance
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The half-distance triathlon will take place on 23 July in the stunning ‘Bay of Whales’ and the athletes will swim 1.9km in an untouched crystal clear glacial lake left by the glacial melt of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago.
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The one loop 90km bike race with rolling hills and short climbs in the old main road is one the most iconic bike routes in Iceland, while a beautiful country road with long hills will be the scene for the 21.1 km run course.
“The idea started with a vision of a long course race with an open water swim since the races in Iceland have almost all been in pools due to cold water,” said Vidar Bragi Thorsteinsson, the founder of the race.
“Our race has grown successfully from the first races and now we are extremely proud of being selected to the Challenge Family “.
“Iceland is one of those magical countries and its beauty is out of this world,” said ChallengeFamily CEO, Zibi Szlufcik.
“Challenge Family’s commitment to providing iconic races in iconic destinations that stand apart in terms of quality makes Iceland the perfect Challenge race destination and Vidar and his team the perfect partners. We are very much looking forward to introducing more people to this spectacular part of the world.”
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Registration for the race is now open; for further information visit www.challengeiceland.is .
The March issue of 220 Triathlon magazine went on sale today, featuring a guide to the world’s toughest triathlons and a feature with long-course legend Rachel Joyce.
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Other highlights in this month’s issue include:
Gear focus: Tri suits We look at the latest tri suit tech
Performance The latest sports-science research, a pyramid bike set and the benefits of sports supplements
Test centre Simply the most comprehensive triathlon review resource available: TT helmets, puncture tools and women’s run shorts grouptests; Storck Aerofast and BMC Timemachine reviews; all the latest tri gear tested
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Find 220 Triathlon on sale at newsagents across the UK, and the digital edition can be picked up via the iTunes store, Google Play and Zinio.
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We hope you enjoy this month’s issue!
2015 was the year we saw new races launch, iconic races celebrate milestone anniversaries and innovative products released. But which were best?
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It’s time for you to vote in the second round of the 220 Triathlon Awards 2016. Simply pick from the shortlisted names in each category.
How to vote
Following round one which was an open vote, shortlists of five have now been drawn up based on the five companies, products or athletes that had the highest number of initial votes. You’ve now got the chance to vote again, with the second round closing on 4 March 2016.
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The results will be announced at a star-studded awards evening in London on 9 April 2016 and published in issue 325 of 220 Triathlon.